Juice Boxes Banned from Green School

ConnectorFall 2016

In a note sent out as part of a back-to-school package, Jackman Avenue Junior Public School in Ontario encourages parents to pack litterless lunches for their children by putting food and drinks in reusable containers before zeroing in on Enemy No. 1 – “NO JUICE BOXES.”

Jackman is a platinum-certified EcoSchool, the highest level of certification possible in the Toronto District School Board’s EcoSchools program. That requires participating institutions to get re-certified every year; among the criteria is that schools not only teach environmentally friendly concepts but also put them into action.

Jackman was the first TDSB school to get a retrofitted green roof and has “planted trees adjacent to the building to provide passive cooling, installed solar blinds and ceiling fans and put UV film on the windows,” its website says.

“Students are encouraged to bring litterless lunches, and we compost all organic matter. We also have a recycling program for paper, bottles, cans, juice boxes and ink cartridges.”